Page 59 of Pure Seduction (Chamberlin Brothers 1)

Something had changed between the beginning of our date and the end of it. And while I’d thought she was having as good a time as I was, there had been a distinct shift in her mood after our…second tasting.

“She’s around, but I’m not sure where,” I replied.

“Okay, well, if you see her, can you let her know I’m looking for her?”

“You got it.”

With a final wave, Mom disappeared out the door, and I decided that I might as well go and see what it was Ryan needed before I got stuck back into the numbers.

I exited my office and was about to head out the back when I spotted Laurel entering the tasting room. A glance at my watch told me she’d be leaving for the day soon, and I wasn’t about to let her go without talking to her first.

I didn’t want any misunderstandings between us, and if I’d done something to offend or, worse, hurt her, then I wanted to know.

When I entered the room, I found her standing over by the large wall of windows that looked out over the deck and vineyard. She didn’t acknowledge me, which could be due to one of two reasons: she didn’t hear me or she just didn’t want to. But when I finally came to a stop beside her, she turned my way.

“Hi.”

It wasn’t the Hi, I’ve been dying to speak to you all day greeting I’d been hoping for, but it was better than nothing. “Hi yourself. You’ve been busy today.”

“Yes. I’ve been running through some of the events the winery usually attends throughout the year and trying to decide which ones I think we should still make an appearance at. I’ll bring you the final list, of course, and if there’s any—”

“Laurel,” I said. She licked her lips, and I couldn’t help but remember the way they’d tasted the night before. “That’s fine, I trust you, and whatever you think will help improve the sales and marketing, let’s do it.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” When that same uncomfortable silence from the end of last night reappeared, I moved in a step closer and asked, “Are you okay?”

Laurel brushed at a piece of imaginary lint on her sleeve. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“No reason. I just wanted to make sure because I thought we had a good time last night.”

She raised her eyes to mine, and for a second I thought I caught a hint of longing there, until she turned back to face the window, crossing her arms over her chest. A barrier if ever I’d seen one.

“Look, if I did something to upset you or hurt you at any point—”

“You didn’t.”

The two words were clipped and made me frown. “Then what’s wrong? Did something happen after you left? Are you okay?”

Laurel closed her eyes for a moment, took in a deep breath, and slowly let it out, then looked my way.

“I’m fine, and last night was wonderful. Really.”

I reached for her elbow, and when I touched her, the pulse at the base of her throat began to flutter. “Then let’s do it again.”

“Noah…”

“There’s no reason it has to be a one-off. You had a good time. And I definitely did. So why can’t we do it again?”

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“Why? Because the town knows we used to date? Who cares? They’ll probably be happy about it.”

Laurel was about to respond when something outside caught her eye. We turned in time to see Ryan and—oh great—that jackass from yesterday’s baseball game who’d wanted to lob a ball right between my eyes.

I looked back to Laurel, about to continue with the conversation, but I noticed the rapt way she was staring at the young guy outside. The same guy who seemed shocked that first day he’d seen the two of us in the wine cellar together.

Huh. Was he the reason for Laurel’s hesitation now? Maybe he was an ex. Sure, he was a little young, but Laurel was hot. Any guy with a pulse would look twice, age be damned.

“Is he the reason you didn’t want to go out with me? Why you won’t go out with me again?”

When Laurel shut her eyes and rubbed at her arms, I knew I had my answer. He was the reason—whoever he was.

“Is he your ex?”

Laurel’s eyes flew open and her head whipped around until we were face to face. “My what?”

“Your ex-boyfriend?”

The shock on her face would almost be comical if I hadn’t been so pissed off that some guy was influencing her decisions. But as it was, I was too irritated to be amused.

“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, it is because of him. But he’s not my ex.”

“I’m confused, then.” I looked back out the window to where the guy was now trailing Ryan back to the production facility with a toolbox. “Who is he?”

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